History of South Dakota

The earliest inhabitants of what is now South Dakota were prehistoric hunters who reached the area perhaps 15,000 years ago. By 500 A.D., they had been succeeded by the Mound Builders. Arikara Indians reached South Dakota from Kansas and Nebraska about the 16th century. Then came the Sioux (Dakota) Indians, who moved westward from Minnesota beginning in the 17th century. The Sioux had spread throughout the region by the time the first white explorers arrived.

Important dates in South Dakota

1682

Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, claimed for France all the land drained by the Mississippi River. This land included the South Dakota region.

1743

Francois La Verendrye and Louis-Joseph La Verendrye were the first white people known to visit the South Dakota region.

1803

The United States acquired South Dakota through the Louisiana Purchase.

1804, 1806

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark passed through South Dakota on their expedition to and from the Pacific Ocean.

1817

Joseph La Framboise established the first permanent settlement in South Dakota at what is now Fort Pierre.

1861

The U.S. Congress created the Dakota Territory.

1868

The Treaty of Fort Laramie ended Red Cloud's War.

1874

Gold was discovered in the Black Hills.

1889

South Dakota became the 40th state of the United States on November 2.

1927

Gutzon Borglum began work on Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The monument was completed in 1941.